The James Webb Space Telescope will let scientists study small, rocky planets around distant stars in more detail than ever before. After decades of work, it could head into orbit later this year.
Potentially, observers in plenty of solar systems could have detected Earth sometime in the last 5,000 years. More stars will soon move into positions that would let them see our planet.
Scientists have found a gas associated with living organisms in a region of Venus' atmosphere. They can't figure out how it got there if it didn't come from life.
A team led by an undergraduate student at the University of Texas, Austin, has found two new planets by using artificial intelligence to sift through data from NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope.
In 2015, to great fanfare, NASA announced a planet discovery considered a milestone in the hunt for another Earth. But now some researchers say it's not clear that this planet actually exists.
When it comes to facing global warming, dealing with climate change and making informed choices for our cherished "project of civilization," we've been asking the wrong question, says Adam Frank.
Classification of planets offers a way to see how Anthropocenes — and a successful route through them — might be part of a continuum of planetary evolution, says astrophysicist Adam Frank.
The planet called KELT-9b is around three times more massive than Jupiter. It orbits a blue star about 650 light-years away from Earth that's nearly twice as hot as our own sun.
Movies and TV have taught us that the way to find life elsewhere is to directly detect purposeful signals from intelligences on other worlds. But a new era has begun, says astrophysicist Adam Frank.
The craft is designed to glean data from Jupiter that could also help us learn how Earth formed. But first, Juno has to get into orbit — determined by a crucial half-hour of firing by its main engine.
Astronomers have found about 2,000 planets beyond our solar system. Now, some scientists are expanding the search to look for distant moons, too, in the hunt for signs of life.
If you don't know why Earth has a solstice — or seasons, for that matter — you are in good company, says astrophysicist Adam Frank. But he's going to clear it up for you.
The spacecraft has detected the nearest thing to Earth yet discovered — a planet that's a bit bigger and squarely inside the "habitable zone" for life.
Astronomers kicked Pluto out of the planetary club in 2006 because of its small size. But scientists set to explore the surface Tuesday via a spacecraft's camera say those other guys are just wrong.
Astronomers using telescopes in Hawaii and California have found two exoplanets orbiting a star a mere 54 light-years away. The discovery is important for two big reasons.
Researchers have finally determined the length of a day on the ringed planet (gas shrouds any landmarks, so it was tough). Precision matters: A faster spin influences the speed of surface winds.
From spices, flour, milk, water and food coloring, a photographer creates startlingly realistic-looking images of space. These photos are convincing enough to impress an astrophysicist.
Construction is starting in Chile on a new sort of telescope. One aim is to survey huge swaths of sky for faint signals of a "Planet X" that may be lurking on the farthest edges of our solar system.
